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Dennis Prager is wrong, but at least he is consistent

One of the things I find most disgusting about some so-called “christians” who support Donald Trump is their willingness to brush aside his documented sexual depravity for access to political influence. These men are heretics, cultists, apostates and idolaters who should be shunned by all Bible-believing Christians. Dennis Prager recently penned an argument for why Trump’s adultery is not a concern, but I will say this for Prager: Unlike the “christian” hypocrites, this Jew is at least consistent.

He is, of course, wrong. Moral character does matter. God judged the kings of Israel and Judah throughout the Old Testament for their wickedness. Prager uses King David as an example, but David was punished harshly for his adultery and murder: The son he conceived with Bathsheba died after birth. Later, David was driven out by his other son Absalom, running away so he would not be killed while Absalom openly had sex with his own father’s other wives and concubines.

Ideally, the President should be of good moral character. Even if we do not elect a “good” man, then we should elect someone who refrains from gross immorality and personal depravity. The problem with electing an immoral man as our President is that he does set the tone for the country, and like it or not many people will justify their own sin if the President is caught doing it and gets away with it. The President may not be a rabbi or pastor, but he is a moral leader and an example. That comes with the job of being any kind of leader.

Yes, policy matters. While I do not regret not voting for Trump, the reason I am no longer #NeverTrump is because his policies have been good. As it stands now, I will vote for Trump in 2020. But policy is far from the only consideration when evaluating a leader. Policy is only a part of the whole package.

What is worse is how this is discrediting the Christian faith. When so-called “christians” excuse Trump’s immorality and depravity, they bring shame upon the name of Jesus Christ and lead people to eternal Hell Fire. We will have Trump for at most another seven years, but what about after that? Are we really willing to trash our reputation and credibility for decades to come just so we can avoid criticizing a political ally for the next three or seven years? Really? Are we this short sighted and foolish?

Prager’s attack on “anti-trump conservatives” is unfair and dishonest. We are not criticizing Trump’s behavior only because we oppose Trump. (Again, I support Trump.) The reason we are critical of Trump’s immorality is because we have held the same consistent position for decades. We criticize Trump for the same reason we criticized Bill Clinton, Gary Hart, Jesse Jackson and Ted Kennedy.

Obviously, we can support someone as a political leader while we decry his personal wickedness. We can support Trump’s good policies while condemning his personal morality and calling on him to repent. For crying out loud, do any of the Trump apologists have children? A good parent wants his child to succeed personally, academically and professionally. We discipline sinful behavior not because we do not support our children but because we DO support them and we want them to grow into responsible, respectable adults. As Christians, we want them to continue in the faith. The same can be applied to political leaders.